Why do RAW photos look noisier than JPEGs?
Asked 4/12/2021
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Why do images shot in RAW often appear to have more visible noise than the camera's JPEG files from the same shot? Is this normal, and what causes the difference?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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Typically the software that creates the jpeg does some noise reduction. There are often options on the camera for how much to do. Software that works with raw photos usually has options for noise reduction, but starts out without any. You get to choose how much you do.
Originally by user14486. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user14486
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is normal. A camera JPEG is not the untouched sensor data: the camera processes it before saving, and that usually includes noise reduction. Many cameras also let you adjust how strong that JPEG noise reduction is.
A RAW file, by contrast, is much less processed. When you first open it, your RAW software may show little or no noise reduction by default, so the image can look noisier than the in-camera JPEG. The tradeoff is that RAW gives you control: you can choose how much noise reduction to apply later, balancing noise, sharpness, and detail to your taste.
So the higher visible noise in RAW usually does not mean the sensor captured more noise—just that the JPEG has already had some cleanup applied.
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